replying to Music1234- I’ve had tons of placements in trailers and tv spots for movies, haven’t seen one penny through ASCAP and am considering switching to a PRO that does pay out for trailer and TV spots. Does anyone have experience they can shed some light on this?

Folks, you can not just sit and hope to collect royalties for commercials from ANY PRO. You have to do some paper work and follow up. Switching PRO’s is not the solution. You still need to do the paperwork to file what essentially amounts to a claim. You are CLAIMING that your music was used in a tv commercial and therefore you are entitled to performance royalties. Did you send links to YOUTUBE videos of the spots or trailers as further proof? and send an mp3 of your track?

Nope, I did none of that so you are 100% right it’s on me, but I was not aware this had to be done so thanks for the link. Sorry didn’t mean to grab my pitchfork and torch and join the “let’s bash the PRO’s” parade. I’ve still got a lot to learn about royalties.

However, after attending ASCAP Expo for the first time this year, I walked away feeling that their focus is squarely on singer / songwriter traditional label work. Production music felt like an afterthought based on the fact that there were few seminars where this was the topic. I also walked away with the realization that royalties are very complex and I probably need to hire someone to help with registering tracks and making claims. I wish there was an easier way like that ASCAP would accept tunesat data, or that it was mandatory for studios to file a cue sheet to every P.R.O. They have the cue sheets but I’m supposed to track down the person to get a copy of it and submit it? The system is not great, but it’s not all ASCAP’s fault.

I’ll refine my question to the thread: Which P.R.O. do you feel is best for TV commercials and trailers?

SESAC for sure from my experience. They pay more for spots based on statement comparisons, and I have seen some high profile tv commercial writers switch to that PRO and I can only assume they are doing so for the money.

@Dougie….ASCAP does do just as good a job as anyone for TV show royalties from my perspective. If TV commercials are your sweet spot, get an account with SESAC immediately.

I also walked away with the realization that royalties are very complex and I probably need to hire someone to help with registering tracks and making claims.

No sir, if you want to make money, you better do all the administrative work. There is no such thing as “others” miraculously handling your administrative work. So you better make spreadsheets and metadata your best friend today. If you like money in the bank, you better register your titles, chase down cue sheets, file claims for advertising and promos you have on the air, and follow up. There are no short cuts.

I have never done any admin work as discussed above other than registering my songs with BMI. To be honest, I wouldn’t know where to start. Most of the libraries I work for do this for me. It’s their money too….

I have never done any admin work as discussed above other than registering my songs with BMI. To be honest, I wouldn’t know where to start. Most of the libraries I work for do this for me. It’s their money too….

If I am watching TV and hear my music on a TV spot I will certainly reach out to the publisher / library to make sure they are aware that the spot is running and ask/confirm if they placed it. At this point in my career, almost all of my music is NE or E deals have expired allowing me to try other markets for my music. I would never sit back and hope the library is taking care of the administrative portion of the project. In fact, I have learned that it is in my very best interests to file ad and promo claims myself even if the publisher did so too. I want the PRO to know for sure that I am the writer of the music.

Last thought – we do live in a world where commercials are made with stock music from the cheaper sites. Someone just licensed one of mine on the cheap to make a car commercial. It’s 100% on me to file the claim to collect back end performance royalties. I will also e-mail a link to the spot and provide competitrack ad codes data. Sometimes a cheap $75 to $500 license can yield an extra $1000 or so if you do your admin work right.

If I am watching TV and hear my music on a TV spot I will certainly reach out to the publisher / library to make sure they are aware that the spot is running and ask/confirm if they placed it. At this point in my career, almost all of my music is NE or E deals have expired allowing me to try other markets for my music.

My exclusive deals are all with big PMA libraries, and they are (in my experience) ON IT in terms of filing cue sheets, etc.. The one big private NE library that is the majority of my BMI statement is on it as well. It’s how they make their money and they have a couple of people that are full time on that aspect alone….

I honestly don’t expect much back end from the typical NE / RF libraries.

Here’s something that I have been looking into. These may help with some aspects of the complexity of royalties. https://www.songtrust.com/

Thanks for this Art – I will investigate further….. Do you have any experience with these types of services or others of the same ilk? Seems like they are more focused towards traditional artist / publishers…..